H. ergaster, though no fossil has a single, universally agreed upon identification at the species level. In 2011, palaeoanthropologist Lee R. Berger went as far as to state that "there is little reason to consider [H. gautengensis] a valid taxon", noting that the attribution of Stw 53 itself to Homo had been challenged on both anatomical and stratigraphic grounds. Notably, Berger stated that MH1, the holotype specimen of Australopithecus sediba, is more similar to early Homo than Stw 53 is, believing the former to be the skull of a Australopithecus africanus or a Au. africanus-like relative of Au. sediba. H. gautengensis is not the only species name proposed for fossils historically considered by most to represent H. habilis specimens, while H. rudolfensis (once proposed for a group of fossils formerly considered H. habilis) is widely accepted, many other proposals, such as H. microcranous (for the fossil KNM-ER 1813) have little to no recognition today. Implications The specimens referred to H. gautengensis by Curnoe cover a vast temporal range, from ~2 million years ago (or 1.78–1.43 million years according to more recent dating) to as late as 1.26–0.82 million years ago. If valid, H. gautengensis would be one of the earliest recognised species of Homo (as fossils earlier than 2 million years old have rarely been assigned at the species level) and also one of the most long-lived, spanning a period of time of over a million years. See also List of fossil sites List of human evolution fossils References Cited bibliography Early species of Homo Mammals described in 2010 Fossil taxa described in 2010 Prehistoric South Africa Pleistocene primates